With the development of enhanced computing capabilities, smaller and highly capable computing devices are being used in providing communication and other services to an ever increasing number of users. Taking advantage of location determination systems such as Global Positioning Service (GPS), cellular phone tracking, and similar ones, modern communication devices are used to provide a wide variety of location-based services to users.
Emergency services are one vital aspect of modern communication systems. During the days of conventional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony, emergency systems such as 911, 999, 112, etc. relied on location information maintained by network administrators. This was adequate because “land-line” telephones were typically immobile. However, wireless devices and networked computers are increasingly being used for facilitating various modes of communication. With these new devices, not only is determining the location a challenge, but determining whether a device is actually being used by an assigned user is also not easily established.
Thus, providing emergency services in a modern communication network presents a challenge at least regarding the location of a user. When a user places an emergency call, the call needs to be routed to the correct dispatch in order to provide prompt service at the correct location.